


I Don't Like How You Talk

by TheShipDen



Series: Dog Days [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Coffee Shops, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Twins, Familiars, Jealousy, M/M, Protective Gavin Reed, Protective Upgraded Connor | RK900, Touch-Starved Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Witch Curses, Witchcraft, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 09:07:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17722274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShipDen/pseuds/TheShipDen
Summary: “I do hope you don’t intend to drop any more dishes,” Niles sassed as he tugged a plate away from Gavin’s hands before he could even touch it. There was a sharp glare sent his way, a pout. Niles raised his brow and let Gavin snatch the culinary away.“That was one fuckin’ time you dick!” He really loved how Gavin grumbled and sulked away and he imaged the bushy tail dragging along the floor if he were a dog in the moment.“My, what language.”





	I Don't Like How You Talk

Niles’s eyes watch Gavin as he steps in front of him; always the protector, the first one to be hit or to imitate an attack. He’s vigilant, within every hour of the day, and Niles often admires him for it. Finds it to be cute, especially whenever they’re both caught up in one another in the afternoon sunlight without a care in the world. When Gavin had sat up while he had been reading, the sheer look of concentration was enough to get Niles’s heart racing. His face scrunched, a glint that made the green in his eyes sparkle unlike any description he’s ever heard of before, the threatening hunch over himself that meant Gavin was protective of something- _of him-_ it was too adorably self-indulgent that Niles had no other choice then to be fond of it. And it had been happening a lot more over the week. 

 

Gavin had kept growling, kept staring off into space and glaring through doors and windows. Niles once caught him sniffing the air- not lightly, either. His lips parted and he drank in the world with a nose tipped upwards, messy bed hair falling into his eyes. It was cute, sure, but it left Niles wondering what had gotten his familiar so shaken up. But Gavin never elaborated which was highly annoying. 

 

In his human form, it was easy to tell what was and wasn’t off about his familiar. But when he became a dog, Niles often had to rely heavily on his initiation and gut. So when Gavin, the lovely dog that he was, waltzed right into the back of his coffee shop with a murderous venom in his bark- Niles had no other doubt that whatever was wrong in the past weeks was bigger then Gavin had initially let on. And it was. Or, should he say, _is._

 

It was made apparent when two girls stepped out of an alleyway- or the one right in front of them had. The other blocked their exit. 

 

Gavin, the beautiful doberman Shepard mix, was too quick to step in front of Niles. His teeth reflected the streetlights and Niles had to pause to simply be proud of his familiar. Gavin was a big dog, a beast of a pet, and his teeth and claws were no joking matter. They were made for ripping things apart, and during their first encounter, Niles was almost surprised he wasn’t a full blown werewolf. His eyes tinted with a golden hue when he got vicious, the fur along his hackles bristled and made him more predatory, the scars only added to his frightening appearance. Niles knew the power stored inside those hackles and mandible. 

 

Plus, Gavin had very good response time, his reflexes matched the witch’s own in many ways. Which is why Niles wasn’t surprised whenever the familiar whipped around and tackled the hunter running them from behind. He had caught their wrist inside his parted jaws, razor sharp teeth digging into skin as blood welled up from the cut to his cheek. Niles frowned, they had hurt Gavin, that certainly couldn’t slide. 

 

The bite was rather serious, Niles knew from the red drops that splattered onto the cement beneath them. It grew worse as Gavin began to tug and pull, almost like he was playing with a toy. How absurd, Niles had to smile. His gaze remained trained on the black haired vixen who stood tensed before him. Niles dared her to make a move- he’d intercept. She wouldn’t lay a finger on his familiar if he had anything to say for it. 

 

That’s when both of them heard the cry, desperate and pain filled. “Amy! Amy! Now- _please!”_

 

The other girl collapsed after a sickening crunch, Gavin snarled at her and Niles’s chest puffed with a surging sense of pride. 

 

The witch watched, through his own careful gaze as she raised something to her lips. His eyes narrowed, and he recognized the item, could feel the magical pulse it made once she breathed into it. A charmed whistle, like a hex bag only worse- for familiars. He cursed and clenched his hands into fists, Niles didn’t hear a single sound but his breath got caught in his throat when he turned to Gavin. 

 

His tail tucked between his legs, eyes wired shut tight as his ears pinned so flatly to his own skull. His balance was off with the way he swayed on his paws, the other hunter kicking him away from her crumpled form with a fierce cry. Niles was immensely shocked to find that Gavin’s howl, one that sank into his very bones, morphed as did his body into something more human. He was screaming and shaking, clutching his own head in his hands and thrashing on the ground once his knees buckled.

 

He shriveled and gasped, hands half stuck on unnatural claws that cut up his own face as he heaved as if choked around nothing. Niles felt pity churning inside his gut as the shorter of the two hunters attacked him while he was down. Niles could make out as Gavin cried that his teeth seemed just as stuck as his hands- a forced transformation that Niles knew hurt like nothing could ever fully describe. It was the worst type of torment to a familiar. 

 

An assault of the senses as well as the body, making them unable to control their own movements in whatever form they took residence in, he knew that if this went on- it wouldn’t stop until Gavin was well dead and physically torn to bits. 

 

Anger as hot as he could feel charged up his resolve, and Niles cursed under his breath. Blood welling from his familiar’s cracked lips and wounds, pouring from his nose and ears. He could feel the vibrations of his own magic coursing through his veins, as strong as his heartbeat, willing misfortune onto the two idiotic humans who dared to be the cause to this. 

 

With a flick of his hand, the chestnut haired hunter was flung unkindly to the alleyway wall. Niles didn’t care much for her seeing as she was so pathetic as to hurt someone when they were down. She did not deserve a swift end and Niles had no intention of sparing her one. Instead he brought a hex bag out of his own his pockets and with a snap of his fingers, let it take root inside her own jeans and with a mere tilt of his head- she was coughing up blood. It bubbled out of her throat like a fountain and she choked, coughed, hacked, and clawed at her own airway for breath. For oxygen-

 

 _Air she wouldn’t receive._

 

Her body trembled, then. Violently and unforgiving. Her eyes clouding over with a film and rolling towards the very backs of her skull and soon reddened tears of crimson spilled from them and she fell limply right after. Niles only felt pity that it hadn’t lasted longer. Perhaps he should’ve played around little more or instead made a doll for her, stabbing a pin repeatedly into it and watching her cry out just as Gavin had might’ve been a more appealing fix. 

 

He still had one to go, however, and she seemed intent on brawling with him now. A gun was raised and Niles wasn’t a fool to think it was a regular bullet. If these hunters knew about a familiar’s weakness and enchanted an artifact to be used against Gavin, they had something for Niles. If he had to take a guess, it was most likely that awful fucking brew. Witch-killing brew, only crafted into a bullet that he assumed was suppose to be buried deep inside his skull. What amateurs. As if he’d allow such a thing. 

 

All it took was a simple spell, really, and Niles was not a flashy, draw-this-out type of caster either. So with a small chant of latin and a flick of his hand, energy surged through his fingertips. Like lightning, the electric current was blinding and powerful and he let it release. In a flash the burst of magic fried their simplistic human body and forced the heart to overexert itself, the rest of the organs crashing until their newly made corpse littered the streets. 

 

Niles felt no remorse for them and had half a mind to leave them there. As they were. That’d only create more problems, ones he didn’t need nor had the patience for, so the hunters could become Connor’s problem while he took care of his familiar. He made the phone call before rushing to Gavin’s side.

 

Niles hauled his familiar onto his back and it was too worrisome how his head simply lulled to one way, fresh blood streaking down his face. Niles’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Gavin?”

 

Said man’s eyes blinked, blearily and they moved slowly from object to object until they finally landed on him. It was concerning, especially when Gavin squinted. His familiar, who had all the senses of a god, seemed so unfocused and uncoordinated. It wasn’t like him at all. 

 

“Can you hear me? Are you alright?” Niles watched as his eyes flickered, trying to stay open. He cursed. “Let’s get you home, okay? Can you stand? Are you-“

 

But then his eyes closed and he became practically a rag doll inside the witch’s hold. Niles streamed out a sea of swears, frowning and glaring at the corpses of the people who caused this. He should’ve just planted hex bags inside their pockets and let them watch the other die slowly and painfully. The rage he felt was unreal and blinding and he almost wanted to reanimate their bodies just to kill them off. 

 

Perhaps another day. 

 

Niles has never really held Gavin before, only had him lay across his chest and over himself whenever they ended up cuddling on the couch- but he didn’t expect Gavin to be too heavy. Which he wasn’t, when Niles found him he had been a bit underfed but such was the case whenever one lived on the streets. He found himself to be grateful for the run in experience. For Gavin. 

 

Speaking of- his pulse was strong and his breathing ragged, but prominent. He was fine and Niles had stopped anything too disastrous from happening. He had wounds, ones that kept bleeding from his own deep claw marks and the knife wound, but nothing fatal. Niles could deal with these damages. 

 

He started his walk home, apprehensive, and morbid- but maybe it’d be better once they arrived safely at the house. 

 

______________________________________

 

Niles was one of the natural witches- not like the borrowers, or the students. He didn’t need someone to hold his hand to be able to do his magic nor did he need a demon to give it to him. 

 

Borrowers were witches who made a deal with a demon, obtaining their power and witchcraft for the very price of their soul or offer something else of value. Those witches, were imbeciles at their finest, Niles hated them. They were prancing around as something they should’ve never meddled with, and for it, they damned themselves to the worst type of life. Idiots, is what they were, boosted up idiots with egos. 

 

The students, well, he was quite fond of them. He taught some; that's what the coffee shop stood for, really for the coven but it also worked on helping out their community. They needed a strong mentor; he and Connor were just the best teachers with the most time and patience. And brains, it seemed. Their coverup wasn’t the most practical but it worked for the most part, and allowed them to lead as normal as a life as they could possibly get. 

 

Then there was the naturals, which his twin fell under as did he. The powers they harbored from birth just stuck with them all throughout their life, they’d be a fool not to use them and expand on the prowess. It’s just a shame that there’s so few among them and how little made up their coven. All that there were was Markus, himself and his brother, and Amanda. They really weren’t much, but the limitations were dissolving everyday from what they could and couldn’t do. That was a perk of being able to practice all of one’s life, always having the chance of perfecting. Of expanding and learning. 

 

They were a rare breed indeed, and Niles hoped to use his gift to help Gavin. 

 

He gathered his little bowl and herbs, digging and rummaging around his pantry for the collection of animal bones and parts he needed. It was one of his messier spells, but it was well worth it for the result of an intact familiar. Of course, the damned thing needed to come from the Book of the Damned. He’d always hated it for it’s trifling history and the sacrifices and threats it posed to merely keep it- to know of it’s contents. The immunity, the knowledge and gain, it brought made up for the trouble. Almost. 

 

Niles grabbed his bottle of liquors, he must make an errand run with Connor in the future. He was positive if he was running low, his reckless older twin must be in a more pressing state. Maybe if Gavin’s better they could all go- he was just getting ahead of himself. 

 

He should be focusing on casting, not anything else. Sighing in exasperation he smeared the newly mixed conception onto the palms of his hands and walked into Gavin’s bedroom. He hadn’t stirred once since they had arrived and Niles had enough sense to know that it was for the best that he wasn’t awake. 

 

Hands hovering over the other, Niles recited the incantation necessary for the spell to work. It was in a language older then Latin, and more rarely spoken. So forgotten, historians might be biased to believe it had never existed in the first place and was only made up. It was ancient. And more often then not, Niles had to roll his eyes for how dramatic the words made him sound. As if this were a harmless scene in the movies- which was another thing that worked his last nerve, but he decided to emit the thought before it could make him bitter. 

 

The one thing, he supposes, that brightens his mood is how quick the spell takes into effect. 

 

A light, just below the skin, shines brightly. Concentrated in the spots that needed the most attention before it spiraled outwards and danced along Gavin’s veins, shooting wherever it needed to go to mend broken skin and fix any discomforts. It was wondrous, and so very convenient. Gavin looked lighter then, resting a bit easier. He couldn’t control the hand that flew out to him, stroking his face and brushing his hair back. 

 

He couldn’t help but to wonder how their afternoon would’ve went if this interruption hadn’t taken up so much of their time. He felt the shudder under his hands, if only it was a shiver of a different reaction. Now that was something Niles could really get behind. 

 

“Gavin?” He whispered. Sound was most likely walking a thin line, Niles knew. He let his hands crowd around his familiar’s temples, rubbing soothing ministrations, and he focused on his spell. 

 

A grunt was his response. How very….Gavin-esque. 

 

Niles smiled, hating the grime and dirt, and got to work cleaning it off. 

______________________________________

 

It had taken days for Gavin to regain his full mobility, and within that time he hadn’t changed into a dog once. Which meant Niles hadn’t been able to take him to the coffee shop in the days that he went. The hours passed by differently and more often then not he looked towards the corner and felt disappointment when he didn’t see the beautifully thick fur of his familiar. 

 

During his break, he ate his lunch in piece- only the bag of cheese and turkey meat sat untouched inside his container. Those were for Gavin, or would be, if he was here. Niles had been a fool to pack them but it had become habit at this point and something just didn’t sit right with him having them and it not being eaten by the gluttonous dog. He never understood why Gavin liked certain foods, like the brie he bought, but never bothered to question it. 

 

Especially when it made him so damn happy to eat. And Niles could never stay mad when Gavin sometimes attempted to steal a bite out of his sandwich- he actually might have missed it. 

 

No one was looking.

 

He checked to make sure. It might be childish but the weight inside his sternum was terribly unpleasant, so he ripped off a bit of his food and set it inside the container. Niles marked a big ‘G’ onto the top with a sticky note and slid it into the fridge inside the break room. Gavin could have it when he returned and it helped him breathe a little easier. 

 

He should focus on his work. He should stop thinking of Gavin wearing his sweaters, sleeves hanging down past his hands and the hem bracketing his knees. He really shouldn’t be thinking about how he grumbled when Niles left the bed in the morning or how he clung and rolled right on top of him, how Gavin looked with a messy bedhead and curled up into his pillow when Niles left for work. 

 

He didn’t have such thoughts. No, he was definitely not thinking about any of those things. That would be….inappropriate for the workplace. 

 

Niles was almost grateful when the bell chimed and got his mind out of the gutter from it’s dwelling. 

 

A girl walked in, her eyes impossibly bright and almost comically wide, as if even she couldn’t believe what was happening. Niles was intrigued to say the least. Her black hair was tied into a loose braid that took to swinging as her head swiveled left and right. He noticed her nose twitch, she was smelling something. 

 

Niles was reminded of the way Gavin’s nose would do that; how his nose would scrunch up and his scar would crinkle, lips pursed as he really took in whatever seemed to catch his senses. It was precious, entirely so, especially whenever Gavin concentrated really hard and his entire face shifted, turned stern and calculating with a gleam behind his iris. Niles smiled, despite himself. He missed his familiar, _fuck._

 

She must be a familiar of some sort. This must be the first time stumbling upon the place. It had to be confusing, with all the scents of casters and other familiars running around, the slight human bask to it along with all of the powerful radiation of the wards they used. It could be overwhelming to anyone who didn’t know what they were walking into. 

 

Niles couldn’t name her ethnicity, considering how she blew right past them all and crouched into the space Gavin usually occupied. He watched as her hand tentatively reached out and stroked the cold floor, a smile of her own rising up with a hint of sadness. He was going to go over, going to say something, but one of his own practicing witches took his attention away. 

 

It was only for a moment, a mere minute at most, but when he turned she was gone. 

 

How strange. 

 

______________________________________

 

The weekend passed and Niles was happily annoyed with Gavin’s haughty behavior. 

 

On their walk to the shop, he almost tripped over Gavin’s paws multiple times. Had nearly fell because the dog stepped in his range of motion and he had to quickly work around him incase they both ended up hurt. It was frustrating, but so very Gavin, he couldn’t be mad. 

 

Entering the coffee shop he went to the fridge and got the container out, putting it into a bowl and sliding it into a corner where Gavin could munch on undisturbed while people filed inside. He stayed and let his fingers course through the bushy black and brown fur, he heard a rumble as Gavin voiced his bliss before he patted him a few times and left. 

 

Things really were better now that Gavin was back. The day went faster, he could deal with people for longer, annoying tasks became funny whenever he had a big dog clambering after every spilt thing and playing with the customers. The familiar occupied nosy little kids and kept their hands on less breakable things, it was heavenly. Less messy, less to clean up, and the more it made Niles crush.

 

It had to be able midday when he saw that girl again, but instead of useless wanderings, she made a beeline for Gavin. Niles was ready to intervene if she turned out to be some other monster of the night or rather another hunter and he merely misjudged, but she dropped to her knees and hugged him. And Gavin seemed too thrilled by that, his front paws attempting to loop around her clumsily as he nuzzled into her side, tail wagging as fast as it could go. 

 

Niles narrowed his eyes from over the counter. 

 

“I haven’t seen you in forever!” She knew Gavin? From where, and how come Gavin’s never mentioned this before?

 

The dog made a noise low in his throat, a noise Niles knows is to be interpreted as something happy and excited. Usually, only Gavin made that sound for him. He frowned. 

 

“We need to catch up- dog park? Block from here, wanna go?”

 

Niles had a reply on his tongue for when Gavin looked over to check with him- only, Gavin didn’t do that. He bounced up and scrambled for the door. The girl followed right behind his heels, beaming smile and perfect teeth as she dashed down the streets. He heard her laughing, merry and unrestrained. 

 

He’s a bit shocked, to say the very least. 

 

Gavin’s never left his side before, and if he ever did he always made sure to let Niles know. But Gavin just-

 

Ran. 

 

Right out the door, not even glancing back. Left with that stranger with no second thought about it. He tried not to be sour. Obviously, Gavin had a lot of trust in this girl. They knew each other, probably very well, if that interaction had anything to say about it. 

 

Gavin would be back. Niles needed to get over himself. 

______________________________________

 

Niles smooths down the crinkles on his shirt and plunges his hands into the dish water and grabs the first plate that needed to be washed. Beside him, he hears Gavin snatching the cloth off of the oven’s handle before joining him at the sink. There’s a bump to his hips, making him pause as he rinses the soapy water from the plate and he glances in Gavin’s direction. 

 

There’s a smug smile seated on his lips, making him appear playful and coy. Niles couldn’t help but to grin back at him. “Did you have a good day back?”

 

“ ‘Course I did. It was fucking boring staying stuck at the house all damn day with nothing to do.” Niles passed Gavin the plate and let him dry it off. 

 

“Oh, boo. It must have been so difficult.” Sarcasm, Niles definitely had a bad case of it and Gavin hadn’t made it any better. If anything, his came on stronger ever since he took on the familiar. He might’ve been a bad thing but Niles found no other pleasure in using it to taunt the other with. It was too fun to pass up. 

 

Gavin hip bumped him again, a bit harder. “Really feel the love there, Ni.”

 

The witch really tried not to let the sudden nickname affect him, focusing on not cutting his fingers with the knife he was currently cleaning. It wasn’t a big deal and it was like it was his first. Connor called him all kinds of things and sometimes the practicing users at his shop liked to be creative in their own way; Nines, was a popular one. He wasn’t sure why and they never tried to explain it to him so he never bothered to question it. Maybe that would be the correct use of proceedings. Not to question it and move on. 

 

His heart fluttered, however, when his own hip lightly brushed against Gavin’s. Not an entire bump but something close enough and tender. 

 

“How do you feel today?”

 

“You ask me that shit every day.” Gavin went to scowl at him but Niles could see the small blotch of pink dusting over his cheek bones. What a precious sight. 

 

“Because I worry every day, spare me the grey hairs, please. How are you?” He hands Gavin his next dish to dry and sets to work on the next bowl. 

 

“I feel fuckin fine, you dumb fuck. Quit worrying.” Despite Gavin’s grumbles, he leaned over and gave Niles a chaste kiss. 

 

It was sweet, tender, and made something inside his chest warm. Magic crackling inside his palms, unused and ready to go, triggered by such a simple display of affection that Niles feared he might end up creating the smallest little shock and spooking Gavin away. He’s never had to deal with such worries, only when he was first beginning his practice as a young boy in school. Amanda had chastised him for accidentally ruining Connor’s hair and turning it into a frazzled mess of tangles and curls. He’s long had it under control- but Gavin seemed to be a weakness. One that made his focus slip entirely, he made Niles unbalanced in the most intoxicating way. Like a drug all too addicting and bittersweet.

 

There wasn’t anything more to the kiss then a brush of lips, and it lasted for only a moment. Gavin stepped back, eyes down casted and shy as he turned to set the dried utensils away. 

 

Niles really didn’t mind them taking this- _whatever it was-_ slow. Gavin seemed to need it and Niles appreciated it, as well. He’s never had a familiar before, never had a partner of any kind, only ever relying on Connor. And even that was rarely. He just didn’t feel like he needed anyone, could trust anyone. And a familiar would certainly only slow him down, pester him all day and be entirely useless. He has never been so happy to be so completely wrong. Because this was fulfilling, dreamy, a fantasy all in itself. And Gavin seemed to bring out the most softest side Niles thought had died inside him long ago. 

 

“I do hope you don’t intend to drop any more dishes,” Niles sassed as he tugged a plate away from Gavin’s hands before he could even touch it. There was a sharp glare sent his way, a pout. Niles raised his brow and let Gavin snatch the culinary away. 

 

“That was one fuckin’ time you dick!” He really loved how Gavin grumbled and sulked away and he imaged the bushy tail dragging along the floor if he were a dog in the moment. 

 

“My, what language.” 

 

“Eat shit and die.” Niles chuckled. 

 

Once he was done washing all of the dishes he let his hands cup Gavin’s hips, a teasing show of muted admiration, as he went to step out of the kitchen. He had more then enough space to leave, he didn’t have to touch Gavin, but it was the option available and he found it to be the most pleasing. Especially when he heard the familiar take in a breath and hold it until Niles had walked a few steps away from him. 

 

“You’re such a shithead!” Gavin screamed into the hallways. 

 

“Really feel the love there, Gav.” Niles mimicked from earlier and found nothing but satisfaction at the low rumble coming from the kitchen. He knew that sound well enough by now; Gavin definitely liked the endearments. 

______________________________________

 

Gavin sleeps in, a habit from the days he’s been injured and recovering, and Niles has the great pleasure of watching him sleep. Because it’s different, it’s cute and Niles is fascinated in the subtle contrasts. 

 

For starters, Gavin is not a still sleeper. His hands twitch, his feet brush against the backs of the witch’s legs, and he sometimes jolts the smallest bit. Niles thinks it’s the dream he’s having, often wonders if it’s a good or bad one, but then he comes to understand it’s just how Gavin is. How he sleeps. He doesn’t ask Gavin about it, he wants to figure it out for himself or maybe he just doesn’t want to quite possibly embarrass him. Niles knows his sleeping has been described as cumbersome by Connor over the years, that he looks dead and stays cold, almost a corpse. 

 

Sometimes, much like this morning, Gavin’s nose will twitch and scrunch up. Like he’s smelling something or something made him angry. It’s very precious and when Niles softly touches his nose he has to hold back a snicker at the snort Gavin gives before he buries his face into whatever’s readily available to harbor him. 

 

Not usually, but on rare occasions, Gavin snores. Little wispy sounds of harsh, jutting breath that simply entail that he’s tired. Heavily exhausted. On those nights, his twitches seem to cease just barely and he’s more often then not dead to the world for a few hours. Niles has only experienced those times twice, but this is not one of them. 

 

He wakes up the familiar by tugging the covers off of him and drawing the curtains, the resounding hiss and groan is enough to let him know he’s succeeded and Gavin’s already complaining. “What the dick, Ni.”

 

“It’s time to get up.”

 

“I can fucking see that.” He tries to burrow back under the covers but Niles is quicker and pulls them back again. 

 

“Then get up.” Gavin gripes about it all morning. 

 

By the time they get to the door, Niles knows they’ll be a bit behind schedule but it’s fine with him. Only because Gavin is walking with him again this morning, the events of the attack nothing but a bad dream at this point. 

 

Except Gavin saunters up to him fully dressed, which is madly surprising, and he doesn’t hunker down and transform. He stands there and opens the door and steps out, not leaving Niles any time for questions or a comment, and he has to walk fast to be at Gavin's side. He’s wearing a plain grey shirt with a maroon jacket and some jeans, a rougher and dark colored scheme type of look that Niles would never wear- but it was Gavin’s wardrobe. Hank had stopped by one afternoon and left these clothes for him while he was still recovering and Nines had smiled. Connor was behind the idea and without a means to execute, Hank had stepped in. 

 

Of course he was curious about the history behind the two familiars, but he chose not to ask. Gavin would tell him if he was ready to talk and if Niles really just had to know, he could figure it out. Piece it together. 

 

But they walk in silence, and enter the shop with no troubles, and Gavin’s back to stealing pastries from behind the counter and disappearing for a couple minutes. Niles half knows what he does with them and he pretends not to notice because he doesn’t mind. 

 

It’s about mid-day when it happens, and Niles notes that it’s usually midday with these occurrences. 

 

Gavin is engaged in a conversation, a practicing witch drinking in every word he’s saying about being a familiar, slouching over the tabletop and resting his elbows on it’s surface. Niles would nag him for it, tell him that it isn’t proper posture and not at all polite, but he’s simply watching. His hands are a bit occupied as they weave the twine around another pouch, procuring a small charm to bring a troubled human good luck on an upcoming exam. It’s simple magic, but there’s no harm in being friendly. 

 

That girl enters the shop again, and Gavin perks up. His smile is so wide and bright that Niles feels something pang him, an irk so deep inside his soul that he thinks it affects his magic. The charm turns into a hex against his will and now he’s annoyed, and going to have to restart on it. 

 

She skips to the table and Niles seems to realize that the reason Gavin dressed up was because of her. He was bitter about it, and he felt he had a right to be so bitter. 

 

She slung an arm around his shoulder and squished their cheeks together, Gavin laughing at her and throwing loving insults in her direction. She responded easily, and tells him that he’s a bitch. But then she calls him _her’s,_ and Niles tightens his hands around the pouch he’s made and has an inkling of a thought that he should sneak it into her pockets-

 

No, no he can’t. Or rather- _he shouldn’t._

 

But he sits back and watches as this girl ruffles Gavin’s hair with the fullest, most thrilled smile and her words echo in his skull. 

 

“Okay motormouth,” Gavin teases and wraps his own arm around her. “Take me away before you kill me with that breath.”

 

The familiar doesn’t glance over his shoulder, doesn’t check in with Niles, he just goes. Leaves. Walks right out the door with a pep in his step, laughing way too hard when the girl jabs her fingers into his side, crooning at him as they stumble out the door. 

 

Gavin has to be ticklish, and he’s a bit offended she knew that and he didn’t. Niles touched Gavin a great deal, or made as much of an effort to do so then literally any other person. How could he have not known this? And within seconds, that girl was whisking Gavin away right from under his nose and it left him feeling sour. 

 

He tries not to let it get to him, but he cannot focus on the sigil he’s painting into a small wooden box. He messes it up numerous times and the frustration bubbles inside of his chest, he abandons the task and goes towards the back of the shop. He wonders what Amanda would say to him if she could see him now. Having trouble making a simple demonic ward and demon trap, she wouldn’t be very pleased. And he wasn’t, not with himself. 

______________________________________

 

The week carries on much the same. Only with slight differences, but the two become inseparable and Niles finds it harder and harder not to be petty about it. 

 

Once, as Gavin was resting on the floor as a dog, just absorbing the mundanities of the workplace- that girl bursts in again. Only she’s a dog this time around. A black lab with a puff of white on her chest and soft ears that dangle beside her head, her tail wags so quick and she bounces on her paws as she comes over. Gavin is fast to get up and meet her halfway, and they both give little happy snorts to one another. 

 

Niles couldn’t stop from snapping his pencil when that girl nosed beside Gavin’s ears, licked the spot there and Gavin looked so pleased. Rumbled and purred, eyes closed and shifting closer to her. She licked briefly over the scar on his muzzle and in turn, Gavin gave her chest his own few swipes of his tongue. They ran and played with surrounding toys, always so playful, always so touchy and happy. Niles glared at her back from where he stood. He wanted to curse her but he never could bring himself to do it. It might make Gavin angry- or worse, sad. 

 

They settled down after an hour of leaving and coming back, of playing and wrestling, of biting and teething each other. The lab rested her head on Gavin’s flank and he did the same, they curled up close together right there on the floor. They looked peaceful, too peaceful and it was driving Niles insane. 

 

He noticed she had a collar on, a nice little purple one that had a bone shaped name tag- whoever partnered with her took good care of her. And Niles knows that her name is Tina. 

 

He’s tired of her, of her witty jokes and infectious smiles, of her ability to make Gavin the happiest he’s ever been. He’s annoyed with her presence and how easy it is for her to make friends with the people around her. Already the students were showing interest in her and she was becoming a regular appearance. They talked to her, pet her, gave her things just like they did with Gavin. 

 

He got extra pissy whenever Gavin looked at her, proud gaze sweeping over her black coat or be it her punk-like clothing style when she was human. The familiar’s chest swelled and there was something bright and twinkly inside his irises. He hated it. He really, honestly did. 

 

______________________________________

 

It’s a call in, a brief meeting that takes up the entirety of his free afternoon. The hunter he’s working with is such a fool, a brute with no wit whatsoever to his being and Niles has to really try and concentrate on not snapping. Money is money, and a favor's a favor. Markus had asked him if he would be willing to help them out and since the man had calmed down the prejudice regarding witches in the latest run-in with a group of hunters called the “Men Of Letters”. They didn’t need another Salem Witch Trials happening- lord above, those nearly took out half the population and almost ended the naturals. 

 

He does this favor because Markus trusts this hooligan. Afterwards, he never again has to be bothered by anything else he finds stupid that his coven asks of him. Jericho, which Markus was the supreme of, was a newly established group. Powerful, but too public. 

 

Niles pities them. Just a bit. 

 

Gavin is positioned just to the left of him, and the glare he’s giving to the hunter in front of them both is enough to make Niles feel smug. As upset as he is that his familiar appears to have a favorite that isn’t him, he stomaches it well. And Gavin always seemed to come back, so that had to mean something in the least. 

 

“What you want from me,” Niles drawls. Voice skirting around his irritation at the thought of Tina once more evoking something inside his chest. “Is a location spell, am I right?”

 

“Yeah, been meaning to find someone.” They do not elaborate more and Niles is thankful. He hates the sob-stories these hunters tell, always so repetitive and boring. 

 

He stands, going over to his cabinet and gathering his large bowl and some other necessities. He’s really going to need to restock his belongings, he might only have just enough bones for this one but any other spell and he’d be out. How inconvenient, his head throbbed- apparently, he could be more infuriated. 

 

As he makes his way back, he begins to set up. Building a small structure of the animal bones, placing skulls and balancing the smaller pieces inside the bowl until it’s standing perfectly. The hunter looks nervous- surely, he couldn’t think witchcraft would be so friendly in those aspects?

 

What an idiot. “Have you brought something of their’s? I cannot proceed without something from the person I’m locating.”

 

They blunder, searching their pockets and Niles rolls his eyes. It should’ve been common sense to be prepared, what were they teaching these hunters these days? Gavin does seem to rally closer when their hand- quick as lightning- flies out and they fling a towelette at him. He swipes it from the air before it has the chance to make fall anywhere and in a more polite manner, he passes it to Niles. 

 

The witch smiles, despite his misgivings, and tucked it under the foot bone of a shrew. The small skull staring right at the human, who looked more and more on edge with how sharp Gavin’s eyes bore into them. 

 

He sighs and sets to his work, beginning the invocation that must be said. It’s a bit cliche and cheesy, the wording makes Niles want to rewrite their own spell history but such a thing would take too much time and be too tedious, so he sucks it up and murmurs: _“Wings of Titania, bear mine eyes aloft as I bid thee.”_

 

He sprinkles the remaining ingredient and upon the last word, throws the remains into the bowl, there’s a flash as the soul is half sucked right out of his body. The candles sparking before dying right next to him as he gasps- head yanked upwards by an invisible force that propels the sight of a more powerful deity into his brain. This part was always the weirdest, but most fascinating to him. 

 

Niles watches himself, sees how his own eyes roll to the very back of his head and he stands exactly like that until he is done. His spirit moves, or rather, is guided towards the aura of the person in interest. He skips over towns, flies past buildings, lingers under foreign skies and clambers over unknown lands- all in a second. In one instance. 

 

He sees them, a lady with the swagger of a bullfighter plunging her knife into the stomach of a werewolf. The blade is silver and the creature dies, falls to its knees before she drags it off to be taken care of. He looks at the sign hanging below him, casts it to his memory as he surveys the scene for just a hair longer before he finds that he is finished. Such a mundane task, how boring. 

 

He’s being sucked back the way he came, pulled as if in a maze all the way back to Detroit, to the same street he has grown up on and made his home, inside the house he shares with the familiar by his side. Niles stares back into himself, at the milky white of his eyes, watches the way Gavin stares at him- concerned but with a shadow of protective flare to his own irises. He feels touched and a grin filters onto his expression. 

 

Gavin’s eyes immediately fly to it, an ease to the hard set look he has, and it makes Niles smile more. 

 

As the familiar growls to the hunter when he leans forwards, clamping his hands onto the table and outright baring his teeth as he hunches in front of Niles- the witch has to feel better about everything that’s happened. Because Gavin was still Gavin, and he would always be just within reach. Like always. 

 

He tried to forget his earlier jealousy. Though it was hard and he was bitter, he made the attempt.

 

As his consciousness slams back into him, Niles’s head lowers as his eyes bowl to the front of his skull, the candles relight themselves and flicker strongly, as if to persuade the puny hunter that this was more of a deal then Niles let on. Once the witch has his head raised regularly and is staring resolutely at them, does he speak.

 

“Well?”

 

Beside him, Gavin clicks his teeth. A warning. Niles reclines in his seat, smug. “They’re in Louisiana. Hunting, no doubt. Her last location was a tavern named 'C’est Bon' but it’s likely to change in the course of your travels.”

 

And that was the end of that. Niles kicks them out and Gavin is walking right on the hunter’s heels until they’re more then well a ways away- must be his senses. Gavin always knows where a person is, how far they are, and he never seems satisfied until they were outside of his limit. Niles could relate, he often was the same way about his own magic in a way. Wanting nothing to be outside of his ability’s range. 

 

It wasn’t until Gavin cornered him that he realized he was stuck inside his own head, his calloused hands holding onto his cheeks and bringing him to focus in on the present instead of dwelling on what he could and couldn’t do with his magic. 

 

“You’re being fuckin’ weird, Ni.” 

 

He thought back to Tina, back to her boisterous laughter and award winning smile and he felt….small. Inferior. He’s never felt that way before and he does not like it at all, the envy he feels makes ice run through his veins. 

 

This time he does not hold Gavin’s stare and shrugs his hands off of him, this time Niles carries on with his work as if Gavin never approached him. 

 

“I’m doing my job and that is all.” And maybe he said the wrong thing, or maybe he should have worded it better because Gavin bristles. He looks dejected and hurt before it’s buried under a mask of defiance, of a bit of annoyance. Niles knows he has made a mistake but he refuses to take it back. 

 

“And just what the fuck is that suppose to mean?” 

 

“If you had the capacity to understand such a simple sentence, you wouldn’t have to ask.” Niles knows he shouldn’t have said it but he did- and he didn’t even bother to look at Gavin, a bit afraid of what he would see next. 

 

So he carries on and puts his jar of little bones back into the pantry, start to wash out his bowl in the sink with water and just listens. He isn’t sure what he’s listening for but his heart races, his palms tingle with energy, his magic thundering just below his skin. It’s itchy, it’s frustrating and he’s almost squirming under the heavy silence. 

 

“What the hell is your fucking problem? Are you seriously callin’ me dumb? Fuckin- are you for real here?” There’s so much venom inside that voice, Niles swallows gravely. 

 

He shouldn’t keep talking, he shouldn’t run his mouth, but he does. Because he’s a bit hurt, felt a bit abandoned and turned away. They’re old feelings Amanda had started and he hasn’t had to deal with them in a long, long time. He had suppressed them since he could remember, they shouldn’t be here now. 

 

“Judging by your limited vocabulary, and seemingly lacking skill of comprehension, I’d say you answered your own question.”

 

Gavin sputters, gapes. Connor’s always told him that he’s very unfair in an argument. That he should watch his words and bait things a bit easier to hear, less crushing on the conscious- but he’s a witch. He’s done terrible things and is capable of monstrosities and he finds that there is nothing more ironic then to say that there is not a power to his words. And if he never wanted to use that power, that’d be a waste. It’s half of what made him a great witch. 

 

“You’re being an asshole, Niles.” 

 

“And your observational skills astounds me.” 

 

“Fuck you.” Gavin says it in a whisper. Then after he’s had a second, he hardens entirely. Niles doesn’t need to be a familiar to feel the anger radiating off of his shoulders. _“Fuck you!_ You’re the one who almost got fucking stabbed that other time! Your ass would be dead if it weren’t for my ‘observation skills’ you dickwad!”

 

Niles scoffs, turning around to give Gavin a look he knows had no emotion written across it. He’s scared, he’s angry, and he’s hurting and he does not want that to become a weakness. A liability. Amanda schooled it into him, to appear blank if he does not know where the outcome will go, where the situation will take him. 

 

“And if _I_ remember correctly- you needed me to save you from your pathetic display from the two girls, did you not?”

 

Gavin growls- _growls at him._ Niles understands why so many people feel rooted to the spot at it, why so many people tensed and felt an edge creep up into their mind. It was wild sounding and so full of promise, a dark promise he wasn’t interested in finding out. 

 

“Don’t even try to fucking play me, Niles! They had been stalking you! For damn near the fucking week and tried to break in!” And Gavin was right to shout, he was right to glare. As much as Niles hated to see it and be the cause of it, it was warranted. 

 

Niles only glared back, too stubborn to be the one to stop. Choked too full of his own pride. “And I dealt with them. _Did you?”_

 

Gavin goes to answer but Niles has him beat. 

 

“Because as far as I’m concerned you were a liability. You weren’t doing anything besides _creating problems.”_ He wasn’t being fair and he knew it, not that the awareness would help. He wished he were Connor, or just anyone else with the common sense and control to just shut up. He was already regretting what he was saying. 

 

Gavin bared his teeth and there was no greater pain then having the sight be turned on him. His heart lurched, not in fear of the notion but of the mess he keeps on making. “Fine.”

 

Niles huffs, crossing his arms. Desperately he was pleading that that _’fine’_ wouldn’t mean what he thought it would mean. “Fine.”

 

“Since you don’t need some stupid _fuckin’ dog_ around- “ He hates how easy the words slide out Gavin’s mouth. He hates how true they sound too, like Gavin really believed any of it. Maybe he had, maybe it was an insecurity-

 

_Niles was so dead, if he was picking at something personal like that. Just like Amanda had with Connor, with him. He shouldn’t be fucking running his mouth but he absolutely couldn’t stop and he wasn’t fucking sure why but it all felt terrible. Like a knife cutting right through his lungs and into his heart._

 

“- I’ll let your ass get fuckin’ gutted.” 

 

Gavin turns then and storms out, he’s slamming doors and gathering what little things Niles has coaxed him to obtain and walking to the front door. 

 

His magic thrums, the familiar feeling of panic, the threatened feel to it. He has to hold his own hands and twine his own fingers together to try and stifle any outburst. He will not let himself become a helpless child unable to control their magic, he will not be the dimwit who can’t contain his outbursts. He will not, he will not, he won’t-

 

 _“Fuck you!”_ Gavin screams one last time before he slams the door shut. The house trembles just a bit, just because his familiar was that strong. Because he was that coordinated and intimidating and perfect-

 

But he’s gone. And Niles stands there, stunned in silence as his hands shake. He doesn’t dare to breathe because this seemed like a cruel realty, a cruel unforgiving fate. He feels his magic twitch, absorbing into something that wasn’t his hands, that wasn’t the world around him and he flinches. Niles pats his pockets and finds a lump there, retrieves it and is mortified to find it. 

 

A hex bag. 

 

_His own fucking hex bag._

 

The very one he fucked up earlier in the day. He doesn’t remember activating it, he doesn’t remember any canting he had done until it slaps him as suddenly as everything else had; when he pictured releasing one on Tina. That had been it, he had been a fool. An utter fool. And he had jinxed himself, fucked his own self over. 

 

There’s so much energy teeming inside him, coursing through his veins and plunging itself inside his head, he’s trembling with it. Under all of the raw power he left go unchecked and in a fit of his own desperation’s, of his own frustrations and blunderings he casts a repelling spell. 

 

 _“Abite!”_ His hands surge to his sides at the command and everything in his periphery disperses. Destructs as if he’d taken a hammer and personally wronged it. He doesn’t feel better, not really, and the shattered glass and toppled chairs and furniture are laughing at him. Sneering at his downfall as if they were better, could’ve been better then he even imagined himself being. 

 

Gavin had left and Niles felt horrible.

**Author's Note:**

> everyone was dying for Niles's perspective and here it is!!
> 
> Also for everyone calling Gavin a dumb gay for not knowing niles magic- you're valid and ily and he's a very dumb gaybie
> 
> that fight scene was the decision of a friend and it wasn't suppose to be as bad as it was but Niles is a fuckin savage and if he doesn't win the fight, its not him. I don't make these rules sorry


End file.
